


Passenger Seat

by itslaurenmae



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Last Jedi
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, And Rey lives in a hut nearby, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy, Force Bond (Star Wars), Maybe a little angst, Not Canon Compliant - Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey and Kylo are Teenagers, The Academy is set on Ahch-To because I want it to be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 20:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13395261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itslaurenmae/pseuds/itslaurenmae
Summary: Kylo Ren and Rey, two teenagers full of ideals and hope and starry-eyed faith, sneak out at night to meet up on the cliffs of Ahch-To.





	Passenger Seat

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is inspired by Death Cab for Cutie's song "Passenger Seat" off the Transatlanticism album. It's a marked change from Fireside, which was pretty much all angst and a few little glimmers of hope. I was inspired by the youthful sweetness of one verse form the song in particular, and this was the result. 
> 
> Enjoy!

 

_"Do they collide?"_  
_I ask, and you smile_  
_With my feet on the dash_  
_The world doesn't matter_

_When you feel embarrassed, then I'll be your pride_  
_When you need direction, then I'll be the guide_  
_For all time_  
_All time_

_\--Death Cab for Cutie, "Passenger Seat"_

* * *

 

They used to sneak out - he from the academy, and she from the hut she lived in nearby - and meet up at the end of the worn path to the cliffs and immediately clasp hands, clinging to the other for warmth. It hadn't been for the sake of being sneaky, and it wasn't even really about having sex. It was about being in the presence of the only other person in the world who knew him, really knew him.

They'd walk to the cliff's edge, spread out on his cloak, and look up at the night sky. They'd watch the stars and ships and other flying things that weren't immediately recognizable.

"Do they ever crash into each other?" Rey asked one night, dreamily. She was nestled into the crook of his arm, her head on his chest as they both breathed in the crystal clean night air.

"What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his chin down at her.

"The ships in lightspeed."

"No," he said. "No, they don't." He couldn't stop the smile from creeping over his face.

"Are you laughing at me?" she accused, lifting her head.

"No," he chuckled, the tone of his voice in opposition to his words. "I mean, sometimes I forget that you don't know..."

"The things the rest of you do?" she finished the sentence for him. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was being petulant.

"That's not what I meant." But he could tell she was already withdrawing. He forgot she could be soft sometimes.

"What I'm trying to say," he treaded cautiously, "is that I was privileged to learn about all of that when I was growing up."

She nodded and put her head back down on his chest. "Okay."

She didn't like talking about her life back on Jakku. Some days, it seemed like she wanted to erase it completely.

If she'd asked him to, and if he was able, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

He snuggled her closer and crossed his legs at the ankles as she squeezed him tighter around the waist.

"They don't collide because their routes are designed in advance. Someone plots the course, sets it, and makes sure it's clear. There's more to it than that, but that's really all that's happening. Someone maps the way, and the ship follows the course."

"That's kind of beautiful," she said, voice unexpectedly delicate."I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at the stars with you."

"Same." He kissed her forehead and felt her sigh against him.

"The world is so big," she continued, focussing back on the sky."And I've seen so little of it..."

She sounded so resigned, like there was nothing that could be done to change this, as if this was unalterable Fate. He didn't believe in that.

"When I'm older," he said, sweeping a fallen strand of hair out of her face, "when I have my own ship, we'll go wherever you want."

"You can't really mean that."

"Of course I do," he frowned, indignant. "I'll have my own ship, and we'll see whatever you want to see."

He sat up and pulled her into him, so her back was pressed against his chest, his head resting atop hers, and reached to lace their fingers together. Moving her was fluid - she so easily melted and formed to him like water from a winter's thaw.

He heard her release something like a giggle, her eyes still lifted to the sky. She grabbed for his hands and wrapped them around her waist. "Will we be smugglers? Like your dad? I mean..." she said with cocky assurance, "I'm pretty sure I'd be good at it."

"Of course not," he scoffed, only partly serious. "We're going to be, I dunno, space archaeologists... or something." He felt a vibration of laughter begin to shake her body. "We'll be this husband-wife duo of artifact hunters, preserving the legacy of galaxies, finding more and learning more than anyone else ever has about civilizations all the history books say are lost."

"Please," she replied, the laugh creeping into the cadence of her voice, "we're not doing anything of the sort."

"Why not?" he asked, serious.

She pulled her legs in to herself and spun around to face him. Looking him dead in the eye, she said, "Because I'm tired of having things taken from me." She grabbed his hands in her own, greedily, as if she was worried he was going to be taken from here right then and there. She bowed her head, breaking their eye contact.

He was surprised by how somber she suddenly was, how serious. How this girl could go from lighthearted banter to solemnly swearing in one breath. He didn't know what to say, so he squeezed her hands, hoping she could sense the reassurance he was sending out to her. Trust me, he thought, you can have whatever you want with me.

Perhaps she'd heard him, because she smirked and said, through a wry smile, "Did you say, husband and wife?"

He couldn't hide the flush from his face. "Yeah, yes I did."

She ran her thumbs over the palms of his hands. "Is that something you want, Kylo Ren? A wife? To be a husband?"

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I do." His face was hot, but he wasn't ashamed.

She smiled up at him, eyes brighter than the stars they reflected. "I'll tell you a secret," she said.

"I'm listening." He leaned forward so he could touch his forehead to hers.

"I've always wanted a family." Her voice was low, thick. "More than I want any Thing in the galaxy."

He swallowed, nodding to show her he heard. This was important. She'd never said this to anyone before, never spoken it aloud.

He disentangled their hands so he could lift her chin. "I promise you, right now, Rey of Jakku..." She was already rolling her eyes and turning her head.

"No, I'm serious!" He laughed, all youth and self-assurance, catching her face with both his hands.

"I promise you, right now, that you are going to have a family some day. I want to give that to you."

"That's very sweet, Ben," she said, using the name given to him by his mother. It sounded like she didn't believe him. She could still be so guarded sometimes.

"Well, fine," he said, pulling away, dropping her hands. "If you won't let me give you a family, you can have mine."

She threw her head back and laughed. He smiled at her, his Rey, his light. "You're funny," she finally said, after catching her breath. "I like you, Ben Solo."

"I know," he winked. "I like you, too."


End file.
